Andriyan Nikolayev

Andriyan Nikolayev
Andriyan Grigoryevich Nikolayev (Chuvash and ; 5 September 1929 – 3 July 2004) was a Soviet cosmonaut. In 1962, aboard Vostok 3, he became the third Soviet cosmonaut to fly into space. Nikolayev was an ethnic Chuvash.
Early life
Andrian Grigoryevich Nikolayev was born on September 5, 1929, in Shorshely, a village in the Chuvash region of the Volga River valley, and spent his time growing up on a collective farm.
Education and career
Nikolayev supported his family following the death of his father in 1944, however this was not preferred by his mother, who preferred that he earn an education. Nikolayev later entered medical school before he joined the Soviet army. During his training Nikolayev was able to maintain a very calm state during stressful situations. Nikolayev's calm made him a fair candidate for becoming a cosmonaut. His future colleagues Yuri Gagarin, Gherman Titov, and seventeen others joined him in March 1960. Nikolayev's future wife was cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, and he reportedly kissed her goodbye before boarding Vostok 3.
History
Nikolayev flew on two space flights: Vostok 3 (becoming the third Soviet cosmonaut) and Soyuz 9. His call sign in these flights was Falcon. On both, he set new endurance records for the longest time a human being had remained in orbit. He also served as backup for the Vostok 2 and Soyuz 8 missions. On 22 January 1969, Nikolayev survived an assassination attempt on Leonid Brezhnev, undertaken by a Soviet Army deserter, Viktor Ilyin. He left the cosmonaut corps on 26 January 1982.
Nikolayev was also the first person to make a television broadcast from space, in August 1962. Vostok 3 was part the first dual space flight, with Pavel Popovich on Vostok 4.
In the early days of space travel, it was usual to place trainee astronauts into isolation chambers to see how long they could last alone. They sat in silence unable to gauge time. Many men cracked but Nikolayev lasted the longest – four days – and became known as the Iron Man.
On 3 November 1963, he married Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to fly in space (see Vostok 6). They had one daughter, Elena Andriyanovna (now a doctor of medicine), before their marriage collapsed. However, it was not until 1982 that they divorced.
In 2004, Nikolayev died of a heart attack in Cheboksary, the capital of Chuvashia in Russia. A scandal ensued. His daughter, who lives in Moscow, desired that he be interred in the cemetery at Star City. The President of Chuvashia had other ideas. After a farewell ceremony in Cheboksary, Nikolayev was buried in his native village of Shorshely. He has no family living in the republic. Plans are in the works to move the body to Star City.
Nikolayev was also a keen skier:
Service in the Air Force made us strong, both physically and morally. All of us cosmonauts took up sports and PT seriously when we served in the Air Force. I know that Yuri Gagarin was fond of ice hockey. He liked to play goal keeper. Gherman Titov was a gymnastics enthusiast, Andriyan Nikolayev liked skiing, Pavel Popovich went in for weight lifting. I don't think I am wrong when I say that sports became a fixture in the life of the cosmonauts.
Awards
Hero of the Soviet Union, twice (18 August 1962, 3 July 1970)
Order of Lenin (18 August 1962)
Order of the Red Banner of Labour (15 January 1976)
Order of the Red Star (1961)
Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class (30 May 1988)
Medal "For Strengthening of Brotherhood in Arms" (18 February 1991)
USSR State Prize (1981)
Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR
Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic
Hero of Labour of Mongolia (1965)
Order of Sukhbaatar (1965, Mongolia)
Hero of Socialist Labour (Bulgaria)
Order of Georgi Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
Order of Cyril and Methodius (Bulgaria)
Hero of Socialist Labour (Vietnam, 1962)
Order "State Banner IRR" (Hungary, 1964)
National Order of Nepal (1963)
Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 2nd class (1963)
Order of the Nile (Egypt)
Honorary Citizen of the Chuvash Republic, Petrozavodsk (1980), Karaganda and Smolensk
Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR (1962)
See also
Attempted assassination of Leonid Brezhnev
References
External links
Биография на сайте Люди
Электронная выставка «Андриян Николаев: Путь к звёздам»
Умер третий космонавт Андриян Николаев
Шоршелы и А. Г. Николаев
Стихотворение Андрияну Николаеву летчику-космонавту посвящается (автор Елена Светлая, г. Чебоксары)
Стихотворение про А. Г. Николаева «Чувашский космонавт»
The official website of the city administration Baikonur – Honorary citizens of Baikonur
Further reading
Rockets and people – B. E. Chertok, M: "mechanical engineering", 1999.
"Testing of rocket and space technology – the business of my life" Events and facts – A.I. Ostashev, Korolyov, 2001.;
Bank of the Universe – edited by Boltenko A. C., Kyiv, 2014., publishing house "Phoenix",
A.I. Ostashev, Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov – The Genius of the 20th Century — 2010 M. of Public Educational Institution of Higher Professional Training MGUL .
S. P. Korolev. Encyclopedia of life and creativity – edited by C. A. Lopota, RSC Energia. S. P. Korolev, 2014
1929 births
2004 deaths
1962 in spaceflight
1970 in spaceflight
Valentina Tereshkova
People from Mariinsko-Posadsky District
Sportspeople from Chuvashia
Members of the Central Committee of the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Central Committee of the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Central Committee of the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Central Committee of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Supreme Soviet of Russia
Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1963–1967
Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1967–1971
Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1971–1975
Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1975–1980
Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1980–1985
Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1985–1990
Heroes of the Soviet Union
Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR
Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Recipients of the Order of the Red Star
Recipients of the USSR State Prize
Chuvash people
Vostok program cosmonauts
Soviet Air Force generals
Soviet cosmonauts
Soviet major generals